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Crawford, Emery Share NHL’s Jennings Trophy

(CBS) When teams have “goaltender controversies” it’s usually because neither goaltender is playing all that well.

That wasn’t the case for the Blackhawks this season though.

Crawford and Emery battled neck-to-neck all season because both of them played extremely well. So well, in fact, that the two goaltenders combined to win their first William M. Jennings Trophy as the goaltenders on the club allowing the fewest goals during the regular season.

This is the fourth Jennings Trophy in Blackhawks history after Ed Belfour won three in the 1990s (1990-91, 1992-93, 1994-95).

As a team, the Blackhawks allowed an NHL-low 102 goals, two fewer than the Ottawa Senators. Crawford (19-5-5 record) ranked third in the NHL with a 1.94 goals-against average and sixth with a .926 save percentage. Emery set an NHL record by winning his first 12 decisions of the season and finished 17-1-0. He ranked fourth in the NHL with a 1.94 goals-against average and registered a .922 save percentage.

Both goaltenders each recorded three shutouts and shared another, helping the Blackhawks total seven shutouts in the 48 games season, tied with St. Louis and Vancouver for the most in the NHL.